Is Tracy Morgan's apology enough?

Gay rights groups have asked Tracy Morgan to apologize for a June 3 bit he did at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in which the comedian is said to have claimed that being gay is a choice, that homosexuality is something that kids learn from the media, and that gay youth victims of bullying are simply "whining."

And now he has. In a statement to Lifeline Live, Morgan says:

"I want to apologize to my fans and the gay & lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I'm not a hateful person and don't condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context."

But The Human Rights Campaign says that's not enough. The civil rights group says in a statement that the 30 Rock star is "a role model." Fred Sainz, HRC vice president for communications for HRC, says in a statement that Morgan "needs to go further than his apology and correct the record: no one should feel ashamed because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and they should definitely not become a victim of violence. ... Until he does something meaningful, his brand will remain tarnished."

According to Truth Wins Out, an audience member at Morgan's show says that Morgan called upon President Obama to "man up" and stop speaking out for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender kids.

GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios called on Morgan this morning in a statement to "remove these violently anti-gay remarks from his show and send a strong message that anti-gay violence is not something to joke about."

GLAAD has also offered to arrange a meeting between Morgan and family members who have lost children to anti-gay violence in order to help him understand exactly why his rant touched such a nerve.

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About Ann Oldenburg

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